Folding and gathering means for books



Oct; 7, 1952 E. K. SMITH, JR

FOLDING AND GATHERING MEANS FOR BOOKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1949 NW Q INVENTOR. Edwin K Sin/Ii, J

i zz 117' TUIP/VE Y Oct. 7, 1952 E. K. SMITH, JR

FOLDING AND GATHERING MEANS FOR BOOKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 15, 1949 JNVEIyTpR. [Wm/z 5mg, J BY W Oct. 7, 1952 E. K. SMITH, JR

FOLDING AND GATHERING MEANS FOR BOOKS Filed Jan. 13, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 7, 1952 FOLDING AND GATHERING MEANS FOR BOOKS Edwin K. Smith, JrL, New York, 1 Y., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to The de Florez Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application January 13, 1949, Serial No. 70,744

2 Claims.

This invention relates to folding and gathering devices for the assemblage of printed pages into book blocks and particularly to folding and gathering devices for the assemblage of printed material discharged asa continuous web from a continuousfimethod of printing such as, for example, that disclosed in the co-pending application of Luis deFlorez and E. K. Smith, Ser. No; 24,174, filed April 30, 1948.

"In any press of the type mentioned above the product discharged from the printing unit is a continuous web, printed on both sides and re peating the entire text of the book in cyclic succession. It is then necessary to process this continuous web into individually sequenced book units in order to prepare the assembled material for the binding operations. An object of this invention therefore is to provide an improved assembly for processing the printed continuous web into sequenced book blocks preparatory to the binding operations.

Many of the existing folding and gathering assemblies available for similar uses have been designed to process the printed material from standard type presses but the problems faced in processing a printed continuous web, render the a cutting device; i

Fig. 5 is a top view of an alternative longitudinal web cutter and folding assembly;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an alternative folding assembly;

Fig. 7 is a top view of an alternative longitudinal web cutter and assembling device; and

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of the indexing system. l

The inventionmay be briefly described as a continuous process wherein the continuous web of printed material "is either folded or slit. in a longitudinal directionand gathered together so that the web is reduced in width to that of'a single page and followed by subsequent lateral cutting and assemblage of the individual leaves into a properly sequenced book block preparae tory to the binding operations.

existing assemblies inadequate. The great number of moving and reciprocating partsutilized in many of the existing assemblies severely limit the potential speed of the operations to be performed. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved assembly capable of ahigh potential speed occasioned by the utilization of a minimum number of moving and reciprocating parts.

It is also desirable, in the manufacture of books, to provide for a folding and gathering assembly that can operate efliciently'with page assemblies of varying sizes, both as to thickness and planar dimensions. Another object of this invention is to provide an improved folding and gathering assembly adaptable, with aminimum of adjustment, to accommodate page units of varying dimensions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a folding and gatheringj-assemblybf simple and inexpensive construction.

Referring .to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic top View of a-printing, foldingtand gathering assembly;

Fig. 2. is aside-view of the assembly shown lnFig. 1;v i

Fig. 3 is an expanded partial sideview of the gathering conveyor belt along the line 3-=-3 of P 8- 1 In Figs. 1 and 2 there is shown schematically a printing unit utilizing a continuous belt method of printing as disclosed in the co-pending application of Luis deFlorez and E. K. Smith, Ser. No. 24,174, filed April 30, 1948. In this method of printing, aweb I of unprinted material fed into the press between acontinuous belt 2 peripherally mounted onthe parallel rollers 3 and 4, and a coacting impression roller 5. It is to be noted that the printing belt 2 and the coacting impression roller 5 are of suihcient widthto accommodate two widths of web material. It is also to be noted that in the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the drawings, the Web I is of sufficient width to accommodate the printing of eight separate page widths in its lateral dimension. After receiving the first impression, the web is passed over a triangular reversing bar 6 and fed back into the press through an adjustable idler roller 1 so that the unprinted surfaceof the web is printed in its second passthrough the press. i

The web, having received impressions on both sides, is then removed from the press, passed over an adjustable idling roller, 8 and over a fixed triangular folding plate 9 to initiate a Ion gitudinal center fold. This initiated center fold is completed by passing the doubled Web through the folding rollers land ll mounted adjacent to the apex of the triangular folding plate 9 so that the added tension from the folding rollers l0 and II isapplied longitudinally to and distributed equally across the lateral dimension of the folded web. This first longitudinal center folding operation decreases the width ofthe Web to one-half of its former dimension. Thus the web is now composed of two strips, joined at the fold, each being equivalent in width to the sum of the lateral dimensions of four printed pages.

The once folded web is then passed over a second triangular folding plate I2 and through a second pair of foldingfrollers I3 and I4 to accomplish a second longitudinal center fold in the manner described above. The diminution occasioned by the second folding operation results in a lateral web dimension of one-quarter that of the original web (i. e. a web whose width now equivalent to the sum of the Widths of two printed pages).

The twice folded web is folded once again by passing it over another triangular folding plate I5 and through a third pair of folding rollers I6 and I1, which operation reduces the lateral dimension of the web to one-eighth its original value (i. e. to a width of a single page).

It is to be noted that the web used in the drawing is of sufficient width to accommodate eight printed page widths. It should also be understood that in the event the web laterally accommodates a different number of page widths, a different number of folding stations need be included to attain the desired final width, 1. e. that ofa single page, in the folding operations. For example, if the web is of sufficient width to accommodate four printed page widths in its lateral dimension, only two stations of folding would be necessary.

The above continuous folding operations reduce the web from a width equivalent to that of eight printed pages to the width equivalent to that of a single page, and we now have a web of eight pages in depth and of a width equivalent to the lateral dimension of a single page. After the folding operations have been completed, the web proceeds continuously to a lateral cutting operation through a pair of driving rollers I8 and I9. I

The folded web is cut into page lengths by a pair of cutting rollers and 2|. One of the rollers zflhas mounted upon its periphery adjustably positioned cutting surfaces, such as knife blades 22, 23, 24 and 25. The cutting roller 20 moves in synchronism with a companion die roller 2|, which contains dies 26, 21, 28 and 29 embedded on its periphery to accommodate the protruding cutting surfaces on the cutting roller 20. The cutting surfaces on the cutting roller 20 and the receiving dies on the companion die roller 2| are adjustably mounted so that varying page lengths may be severed. In addition the cutting roller 20 and the companion die roller 2| may be shifted in position" along the line of their centers to assure a contact between each cutting surface and'its companion die roller.

The severed page lengths or signatures are then passed through a set of guide plates 30, 3|, and are grasped by the driving rollers 32 and 33, which propel the severed signature at a greater speed than the basic web speed to facilitate separation of the individual signatures preparatory to assembling the signatures in the proper sequence. The severed signatures, suitably spaced, then pass through the driven guiding rollers 3435 and 36-31, which are adjustable in position to accommodate varying page lengths.

The basic element of the gathering assembly as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is a continuously moving conveyor belt 38 into which the severed signatures are propelled in the proper sequence.

The severed signatures are fed into the indexing plates 39 and 40 which rotate through a predetermined angular displacement and serve as mechanical guides to direct the severed signature assemblies into the correct alignment against a positioning block 4| on the continuously moving conveyor belt 38.

The utilization of a continuous method of printing, such as the continuous belt method illustrated, which renders it possible to print an entire book on a continuous web, necessitates the inclusion of an indexing system in the gathering assembly. For example, if a 320 page book were printed on a web of sufficient width to accommodate eight pages, 20 folded signatures would comprise the entire book. Thus between .the delivery of the 20th and 21st signature to the conveyor belt 38, the gathering assembly must index and place the 21st signature against the next successive positioning block 4| on the moving conveyor belt 38.

To accomplish this positional disposition the indexing plates 39 and 49 are disposed to continuously change position to place the severed signatures in the correct alignment against the positioning block 4| on the conveyor belt 38. It is to be noted that the conveyor belt 38 is continuously moving and it is therefore necessary to have the movement of the indexing plates also synchronized with the movement of the belt 38 to assure the correct alignment of the signatures.

To achieve high speed operation there is incorporated, in addition to the indexing plates 39 and 40, an air jet 45 to deflect and propel the trailing edge of each severed signature into the correct alignment against the positioning block 4| before the approach of the next successive signature.

A mechanical guide, such as the curved segment 39a may also be used, either alone or in conjunction with the air jet 45 to guide the severed segments into the correct alignment against the positioning blocks 4|.

Fig. 8 shows a presently preferred embodiment of the apparatus to accomplish the necessary indexing of the severed signatures upon the positioning blocks 4| on the conveyor belt 38. The drive forthe indexing system is obtained from a sprocket I 40, which is driven by a chain |4I encompassing a cutting roller I42 and its companion die roller I43. For a given page length being cut by the cutting roller I42, and for a given Web speed, the sprocket I49 will have a constant speed. Of course, different page lengths being severed and different web speeds will result in different speeds of the sprocket I40. The sprocket I 40 is keyed to a shaft I44 having a gear I45 mounted at the other end thereof. The gear I45 drives a gear I 48 through an intermediate idler gear I46 mounted on a rotatable yoke I41. The rotary motion of the gear I48 is transmitted to the shaft I49 through a gear reduction unit including gears I50 through I53.

Mounted on the shaft I49 is a cylindrical cam I54. A follower arm I55, loaded by a spring I56, engages the surface of the cam I54. A shaft I51, having the indexing plates 39, 40, mounted thereon, is connected to the follower arm I55. The cam I54 is disposed to rotate the indexing plates 39, 40, slowly through a predetermined arc and then permit the plates to rapidly return to their initial position to resume their slow angular displacement. The cam I54 is disposed to make one goniplete revolution per index, i. e. per complete As previously noted the conveyor belt 38 moves slowly and steadily. Its movement, however, must be such that the positioning blocks 4 I move one pocket length per book in order to be properly synchronized with the indexing plates '39, 48.

Since the shaft I49 makes one complete revolution per book, the conveyor belt 38 is driven by the shaft I49 through a suitable gear reduction unit, such as the gear train I59. The mechanical linkage between the gear train I58 and the driving sprocket I68 of the conveyor belt 38 is represented by the dotted line IBI.

The indexing system is adaptable to books of varying numbers of pages by changing the gear I45. Since the shaft I49 always must turn one revolution per book and the sprocket I48 will turn a number of revolutions equivalent to thenumber of signatures making up a book, provision has been made for varying the mechanicallinkage between said shaft I49 and said sprocket I48. This is accomplished by the change gear arrangement including-gears I45, I48 and I48. Gear I45 is the changeable gear, and the yoke I41, rotatable around the axis of the gear I48 provides for easy adjustment and allows the shafts of both gears I45 and I48 to remain fixed in position.

The continuously moving conveyor belt 38, containing book blocks made up of the assemblage of individually deposited signatures as deposited by the gathering assembly, moves slowly past a second conveyor belt 42 located at right angles to the primaryconveyor belt 38. The book blocks are transferred from the primary conveyor belt 38 to the second conveyor belt 42 for transportation to-storage, orto the binding operations, by the action of a pusher arm 43 mounted on an overhead moving belt 44 operating in synchronism with the primary conveyor belt38, so that the pusher arm 43 will push an assembled book block from the primary conveyor belt to the secondary conveyor belt 42 at the proper instant of time. I I

It should be noted that it is possible to print a series of marks on the folded multiple page unit of the type described, located so the marks appear in diagonal array on the exposed folds when gathered into the book block. Thus a simple, visual inspection, when the book is under way in the discharge conveyor, will show whether or not all the units are properly assembled.

Fig. 4 illustrates in detail what I now regard as the presently preferred embodiment of the rotating-cutting apparatus to be employed in the complete assembly as described above. A rotor 46, disposed to rotate about a shaft 41, consisting I of four split spokes 48, 49, 58 and I serves as a base support for the mounting members 52, 53, 54 and 55 which carry the cutting elements 56, 51, 58 and 59. The mounting members 52, 53, 54 and 55- are adjustably mounted on the base support so that the radial dimension of the complete cutting rotor may be varied and fixed in position by the bolts 68, BI, 62 and 63 to permit the severance of varying page lengths. A companion rotor 64, disposed to rotate about a shaft 65 consisting of four split spokes 66, 61, 68 and 69 serves as a base support for the mounting members 18, H, 12 and 13 which carry dies 14, 15, 16 and 11. The mounting members 18, H, 12 and 13 are adjustably mounted on the base support so that the radial dimension of the complete companion die assembly may be varied to correspond with that of the cutting rotor and fixed in position by the bolts 18, 19, 88 and 8I.

To permit the severing of varying page lengths,

it is necessary to vary the radial dimension of the cutting and companion die assembly in the man ner described above by corresponding amounts, and it is also necessary to vary the positions of the shafts 41 and 65 to compensate for the individual adjustments previously made. For example, in order to shorten the page length to be severed, it is necessary to decrease the radii of the cutting and companion die assemblies andalso to move the shafts 41 and 65 closer together to assure the cutting contact between the above mentioned cutting and companion die assemblies.

The drive for the rotors'46 and 64 is an endless chain 82 driven by avariable 6 speed driving sprocket 83. The chain 82 engages sprockets 84 and 85, mounted on the rotors 46 and "84 respectively, so that the cutting rotor 46 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction and the companion die rotor 64 rotates in a clockwise direction. The sprocket 84 on the cutting rotor 46 may be a split sprocket to permit easy adjustment. The chain 82 also engages an idler sprocket 88, which is adjustable in position to take up any slack in the chain 82 occasioned by adjustment of the positional relationship of the rotors46 and 64.

In operation (as shown in Fig. 4) a continuous web 81 of printed material is fed through :a pair of driving and guiding rollers 88 and 89 and is severed by the action of the cutting element 59 engaging the corresponding die 15. The constantsynchronized rotation of the rotors 46 and 64 in conjunction with the moving web 81 severs the successive lengths of web 81 into the desired page lengths. The severed web then passes through a pairof guiding plates 98, 9I and the severed sections are accelerated by the action of the driving rollers 92, 93 which rotate at a speed suificient to introduce a space between the successive severed segments. I

Fig. 5 shows an alternative composite web cutting and folding assembly to be included in a continuous process. The uncut web is passed over a die roller 94. Mounted on a separate shaft 95 are cutting wheels 96, 91 and 98, the cutting surfaces of which contact the die roller 94 and sever the web longitudinally into four separate strips of equal widths. The severed strips are then center folded longitudinally by the four sets of folding rollers 89, I80, I8I and I82. Triangular folding plates (not shown) may be included prior to the above mentioned folding rollers. The once folded webs are assembled by the idler rollers I83, I84, I and I86 and proceed to the cutting stage, illustrated schematically by the cutting roller I81 and a companion die roller I88. It is to be noted that the webutilized in this apparatus is also of awidth equivalent to that of eight printed pages. The slitting operation divides the web into four separate strips each having. a width equivalent to that of two printed pages. The individual strips. are then folded and assembled so that the resulting finished web has a dimension equivalent to that of one printed page. I

Fig. 6 illustrates an alternative folding assembly wherein seven simultaneous form folds are introduced without a slitting of the web. The folds are initiated by the folding guides I89 to H5 inclusive contacting the web I I6 after it has passed over a roller H1. The folding guides I89 to I I5 inclusive are positioned so that all points across the web travel equal distances in the folding process in order to avoid a stretching or tearing of the web. After the folds have been initiated by the folding guides, the web is then passed through 7 a suitable assembly of rollers (not shown) to finish the folding operation and deliver the folded material to the cutting stage. A second set of folding guides positioned below the web in spaced relationship with the guides I09-I I may also be used to initiate the folds.

Fig. 7 illustrates an alternative device to re duce the printed web II8 a width equivalent to that of eight pages to an assembled web of a width equivalent to that of a single page. The uncut printed web H8 is passed over a die roller II9. Mounted on a separate shaft I2IIare cutting wheels I2I to I27 inclusive, the cutting surfaces of which contact the die roller I I9 and sever the web II8 longitudinally into eight strips each having a width equivalent to that of a single page. The severed strips are then passed over turning bars I28 to I35 inclusive and are assembled into a continuous web eight pages in depth and having a width equivalent to that of a single page, by a drive roller I36. The web then moves on to a lateral cutting operation. I

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have herein described the principle of operation of this invention, together with the elements which I now consider the best embodiments thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the structure disclosed is only illustrative and the invention can be carried out by other means. Also, while it is designed to use the various features and elements in the combinations and relations described, some of these may be altered and modified without interfering with the more general results outlined.

I claim;

1. In a folding and gathering apparatus for processing a continuous Web which has successive cyclic groups of printed page impressions arranged in ranks and files on the web, said groups constituting all the pages of a book, said apparatus including, in combination, a plurality of form folders for longitudinally folding the ranks of page impressions across the web into a strip of one page width, cutting rollers adapted to receive the folded web strip and laterally sever said strip into successive segments of one page length;

the improvement, comprising, feed rollers operating at a higher peripheral speed than the cutting rollers and adapted to receive the out page seg ments, and, by the accelerated speed of said feed rollers, to space the segments from each other as they are moved successively through said feed rollers, guide plate members adapted to receive the page segments therebetween, means for pivotally mounting the edges of said guide plates adjacent the feed rollers, indexing means adapted to vary the positional disposition of the edges of the guide plates remote from the feed rollers so that the successive page segments will be discharged from the guide plates in successively different planes, and a continuously moving receiving station adapted to receive the successive page segments in side-by-side relation to each other, the plane of delivery of the sheets being at right angles to the path of the conveyor.

2. In the manufacture of successive book page blocks having predetermined pagination, a cutting and gathering apparatus for a continuous paper web having cyclic page impressions thereon arranged across the width and along the length of said web and constituting all the pages of a book, said, apparatus having cutting means to longitudinally cut the web into strips the width of the printed page impressions, means to assemble the strips into a single composite strip, cutting rotors adapted to receive and laterally sever the composite strip into segments of page length; the improvement, comprising, feed rollers operating at a higher peripheral speed than the cutting rotors and adapted to spacethe page segments of the severed web, guide plate members to receive the spacedsevered segments, means for pivotally mounting said guide plate members, indexing means connected to said guide members, and a continuously moving receiving station having separate compartments for the receipt of successive page blocks, said indexing means including. a cam following arm connected to the guide plates and adapted to cause the guide plates to pivot about the pivotal mounting means, a cam adaptedto actuate the cam following arm, and linkage means connecting said cam to said cutting rollers, and a continuously moving receiving stationto receive the successive severed segments, said cam actuated indexing means directing the guide plate members so that the successive severed segments are delivered to a compartment of the receiving station in successively different planes, in side-by-side sequential arrangement to form a page block, and said cam actuated indexing means being adapted to index the guide plates so that each successive cycle of printed page impressions are delivered to another compartment of the receiving station in accordance with the predetermined pagination arrangement, the plane of delivery of the sheets beingat right angles to the path of the conveyor. 3

EDWIN K. SMITH, JR.

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' Horton et al Nov. 21, 1939 

